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The Globe and Mail (Canada)
December 4, 2002
Theatre hostages sue city of Moscow
By MARK MACKINNON
With a report from Associated Press

MOSCOW -- A group of former Moscow theatre patrons taken hostage when Chechen militants stormed the stage during an Oct. 3 performance are suing the Russian capital for millions of dollars in damages.

The ex-hostages, survivors of a three-day standoff that ended with at least 170 people dead, claim they are entitled to compensation under Russia's antiterrorism law.

"We're not blaming anyone, but according to the law on fighting terrorism, compensation should be paid by the authority of the territory on which the terror act took place," said Igor Trunov, the group's lawyer.

Mr. Trunov said eight people -- five former hostages and three relatives -- have joined the lawsuit so far, claiming "moral damages." Seven of the plaintiffs are seeking $1-million (U.S.) each, while the eighth is asking for $500,000.

The lawyer said the law is so clear on the matter that there's little question of whether they will win the case. It is the size of the damages that remains a question.

"It may be very little, just a formal amount. But the main thing is to raise this problem for the first time. There are many invalids and sick people who are left alone with their pain, sufferings and torture after terror acts in Russia," he said.

More than 800 theatregoers were taken hostage for three days in the incident, by a band of rebels demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from the breakaway republic of Chechnya. The standoff ended when Russian special forces stormed the theatre, killing the 41 militants. However, 129 of the hostages also died in the raid, almost all of them from the effects of a mysterious gas used to subdue the hostage-takers.

The office of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov issued a statement criticizing the lawsuit, saying that "the Chechen issue and its consequences are not within the jurisdiction of the Moscow authorities in any way."

The federal government has already agreed to pay about $3,000 to the families of each of the dead, and half that amount to hostages who survived.

Some say that's not enough, however.

Anna Lyubimova, who appeared at the court, said her 71-year-old father, Nikolai Lyubimova, survived the hostage ordeal but was left with his left arm and parts of his face paralyzed. She said he can no longer feed himself properly and his meagre pension is not enough to pay for medical treatment.

"His health is totally damaged," Ms. Lyubimova said. "He's afraid to go outside by himself; he's not given any material help to buy medicines."

In yet more fallout from the hostage-taking, Denmark announced yesterday that it was releasing Chechen envoy Akhmed Zakayev, a top aide to separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov.

Mr. Zakayev, 43, had been in custody since Oct. 30, when he was arrested in Copenhagen in the aftermath of the Moscow hostage-taking.

Russian officials protested, but Jakob Scharf, the head of the Justice Ministry's international department, said Mr. Zakayev was released because there was not enough evidence that he was connected to terrorism.

Meanwhile, in Ingushetia, the Russian republic bordering Chechnya, Russian forces dismantled a tent camp that was housing 1,500 Chechen refugees, ignoring appeals by the United Nations refugee agency. Most of the inhabitants returned to Chechnya after the tents were torn down.

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